JULIO LE PARC ARTWORKS

Julio Le Parc is an Argentine painter and sculptor born on 23 September 1928 in Mendoza, among the induscussi protagonists of Optical Art. At the age of fifteen, he entered the School of Fine Arts of Buenos Aires, where he subsequently graduated from high school. From the first years of study, he showed interest in the avant-garde movements in Argentina, such as the Mouvement art-concret-invention and the Movimento spatialista animated by Lucio Fontana.
In 1958, Julio Le Parc obtained a scholarship from the French government and moved to Paris, where he has lived ever since. During his stay in the French capital, he establishes relationships with other Argentine artists and begins to work closely with them. Since 1959, Julio Le Parc and his collaborators have analyzed the work of contemporary and avant-garde artists, trying to identify contradictions and limits to overcome. In particular, they criticize the approach of artists who use free forms and arrangements on the surface and in space, preferring instead to work in a systematic way, based on sequences and progressions.
In 1960, he is one of the founding members of the Groupe de recherches d'art visuel (GRAV), an artistic research group dedicated to kinetic art and visual experimentation. During the period of GRAV's activity, he remained an active and influential member until the group's dissolution in 1968. Thanks to his ties with GRAV, the artist is committed to promoting the active participation of the viewer in the artistic process.
Julio Le Parc is considered one of the protagonists of Optical-art, an artistic movement that aims to introduce movement into the work of art. However, the artist goes beyond simply creating optical illusions on the canvas. Through the use of technological devices he built himself, he explores the complexity of human visual perception. His works are not just plays of light, but real research into perception and the senses. The artist's first works are created with natural light, plastic elements, nylon threads and moving objects. However, starting in 1962, he began to use artificial light in large devices, creating works of art that literally hypnotize those who observe them. His works aim to actively involve the viewer, enveloping him in a unique sensorial and visual experience. Throughout his career, Julio Le Parc has received numerous awards and prizes. In 1966, he held his first private exhibition at the Howard Wise Gallery in New York and, in the same year, won first prize at the Venice Biennale. In 1972, his first retrospective was organized in Düsseldorf and, in 1987, he obtained first prize at the Cuenca Biennial in Ecuador.
Julio Le Parc's works are exhibited in important museums and galleries around the world, and His influence on contemporary art is recognized internationally. His ability to combine visual art with the active interaction of the viewer has made his work a point of reference in the field of kinetic art and Optical art. Julio Le Parc continues to create innovative works of art and experiment with new forms of visual expression, leaving a significant imprint on the contemporary art landscape.